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Federal Web Sites Go Dark Amid Shutdown

Washington — The budget impasse that brought nonessential operations of the federal government to a halt on Tuesday also had a major impact on Web sites used by many educators, researchers, and students.

The shutdown, which triggered furloughs for approximately 800,000 federal workers and the closing of offices, research labs, and national parks across the country, is expected to affect colleges, students, and academic scientists only minimally at first.

But already some education-related Web sites and resource portals run by the government and frequently used by people in academe have been left unmanned, and will not be updated until members of Congress and President Obama resolve their differences on federal spending.

The U.S. Department of Education, which said in a memorandum it would furlough “over 90 percent of its total staff level” for the first week of the shutdown, posted a message on its Web site warning that its activities have been “curtailed.”

“During the shutdown, information at ed.gov may not be up to date, transactions submitted via ed.gov might not be processed, and the agency may not be able to respond to inquiries until appropriations are enacted,” the message says.

Visitors can still navigate the site, but there is a single site update since Tuesday. It reads: “Government Shutdown.” The department’s Twitter handle, @usedgov, has suspended tweeting during the shutdown, and the National Center for Education Statistics has also stopped updating its site.

The department’s grants-management system, G-5, is at least partly operational. Grantees can still expect automated grants-related transactions, including the drawdown of funds, according to a message on the g5.gov site. Transactions that require work by department employees will not be completed during the shutdown, and visitors are being directed to check the site for updates.

The National Science Foundation’s Web site and its sister sites, FastLane and Research.gov, are inaccessible “until further notice,” according to a message posted on Tuesday. The foundation’s message includes specific instructions for things like the publication of new grant opportunities, which have been suspended. Contractors will be notified whether they will be expected to continue work, and no new contracts will be issued, the message says.

The Web site grants.gov, which is operated by the Department of Health and Human Services and serves as the portal for more than 1,000 grant programs in 26 federal agencies, will remain operational but with “reduced federal support-staff presence,” according to a message posted in red on the site.

A message on the Federal Student Aid Web site states that officials expect “there will be limited impact to the federal student aid application (FAFSA) process, to the delivery of federal student aid, or to the federal student loan repayment functions.”

The National Institutes of Health, the largest source of funds for medical research in the world, alerted visitors to its Web site that information “may not be up to date,” and that “transactions submitted via the Web site may not be processed.” NIH officials may not be able to respond to inquiries until appropriations are enacted, the message says. Visitors are being directed to USA.gov for updates on the resumption of normal government operations.

The shutdown has closed the Library of Congress, and its Web site is inaccessible.

“Due to the temporary shutdown of the federal government, the Library of Congress is closed to the public and researchers beginning Oct. 1, 2013 until further notice,” a message on the site reads.

Government data troves such as the Census Bureau and the Bureaus of Labor Statistics and of Economic Analysis have also stopped releasing most new data reports, according to the Pew Research Center.

A brief shutdown would have a minimal impact on colleges, educators, and researchers who receive money from the federal government, according to a contingency plan issued by the Education Department. But a long-term interruption could result in serious setbacks to research and services.

President Obama was meeting with Congressional leaders at the White House on Wednesday afternoon in an effort to break to budget stalemate.